Championship debut for new Mitsubishi

Two brand new Mitsubishi Lancer EVO X cars will debut to this weekend’s opening round of the Vantage Aluminium Joinery New Zealand Rally Championship – starting at the Tomoana Warehousing Rally Hawke’s Bay (4 – 5 April).

The same weekend the same evolution of car will be debuted in WRC Portugal by Kiwi Mark Tapper, Rotorua youngster Sloan Cox (co-driver David Calder) and Kerrikerri’s Kingsley Thompson (co-driver Richard Ellis) will start the New Zealand based two-day rally.

Counting toward the overall Goldstar championship title, the two teams are among 31 current entrants in a variety of makes contesting the five round series.

With 17-year old Cox having already won a hillclimb event during the car’s first competitive outing in early March, helicopter pilot Thompson says his Ralliart New Zealand prepared car is very predictable package to drive:

“It’s very impressive – a big step up from the EVO IV I used last season, but it does what you expect of a well balanced car.”

A rookie to the series, Thompson adds the plan is to progress his speed during the six-month season:

“We are out for a bit of a learning curve – get used to the car and build on our pace as things will be very fresh for us.”

Starting out with the championship cars on display at Napier’s Sound Shell from 4:30pm this Friday afternoon, the teams cross the ceremonial ramp adjacent to Marine Parade at 7pm. The competition begins in earnest Saturday morning with a 25 kilometre journey to start off the Napier/Taupo highway and in to the 18.53km Waipunga stage.

Progressing north, the cars complete a further three tests before a lunch service stop in Wairoa to turn the teams south through traditional county and forest reaches before the end of day stop in Napier. Resuming from 7am Sunday morning, the journey pushes teams north and inland, refreshing during the day at the Whirinaki Pulp Mill service area.

Adding to the spectacle, the 11.28km Triple Bridges stage alongside the Ngaruroa River between Hastings and Napier provides the penultimate test before a 24km sprint through the ‘Dartmoor’ stage brings the crews to the ceremonial finish at Napier’s Pak ‘n Save Supermarket carpark on Station street from 4pm.